


Another Coin in the Fountain

by rosapastel



Category: I Love Yoo (Webcomic)
Genre: College AU, F/M, Ice Hockey AU, nol place hockey, sports AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-18
Updated: 2020-09-18
Packaged: 2021-03-07 16:08:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,415
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26520400
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rosapastel/pseuds/rosapastel
Summary: Nol is captain of his University's hockey team. While his team gears up for the new tournament, a certain girl slips in the ice.
Relationships: Hirahara "Nol" Yeong-Gi/Yoo Shin-Ae
Comments: 3
Kudos: 35





	Another Coin in the Fountain

Nol can only hear his hammering heart as he aims for the goal. As his stick hits the puck, he can't listen to it, but the timer indicates the end of the game. The goaltender swerves to stop the flying disk, but he's too late—it goes past him, hitting the net's back. 

The sound around him returns in time to hear the audience roar. He turns to face his teammates, who crush him in a hug—everyone hoots and jumps, matching the audience's happiness. The tension from his body leaves as his team heaves him up. 

The celebration doesn't stop until past midnight. Soushi says it's not often when an American school qualifies for the university hockey championship. It's not until they all arrive for practice the next day with a pounding headache that the Australian mutters about regretting having drunk so much.

"If you know you can't handle it, why did you do it?" Nol asks bemused at his friend, who's struggling to keep his breakfast.

"I needed to celebrate man; it's not oft-"

"Yeah, yeah," Nol interjects. "It's not often that an American team that makes it to the championship."

Soushi turns sheepishly. "Guess I said that a lot yesterday."

Nol bends down. "Try every other minute."

After a grueling practice for his team, they begin changing in the locker room. The room is filled with the sounds of groans and lockers slamming until a ruckus from outside breaks the harmony. The team stumbles out and watches as a girl lies in the rink with glass shards from the bleacher windows sprawled around her. 

Nol, along with Soushi, was the first to help her get up. "Careful," Nol warns as he takes her elbow from one side.

"Thanks," she mumbles in reply.

"What is going on -" The words die on his coach's lips. His face reddens as he catches sight of the broken window. After a pregnant silence, he yelled, "Will someone explain to me what happened?"

The girl that Nol had helped up, raises her hand, "I can explain, sir."

The coach waits with an arched brow and Nol knows this isn’t going to be pretty from the look on the girl's face. 

"I came to see my friend but ran into someone who … well, let's just say they don't think kindly of me ... and they threw a skate at me. Only I ducked, and this happened."

Nol’s coach rubs his face. The girl shrinks. "I'm so sorry; I'll take full responsibility."

"Yes, you will." His coach replies, red-faced. "This is a closed area, reserved only for practice. I've never seen you around, might I assume you aren't part of any ice teams?"

The girl's face ashens. "No, sir."

He scoffs. "Then I have no choice but to call the authorities."

"No, please." The girl pleads, hands clenching at her sides. "I'll do anything, but please don't report me. I'm here on a scholarship—if I get in trouble I'll—"

"I don't care what happens to you. You've destroyed private property, and I'll see to it you get properly punished."

"Coach," Nol interjects. 

All eyes turn to him. Soushi's eyes warn him not to do anything. Nol turns his gaze to his coach, firmer this time. "I think we can accommodate a better arrangement that doesn't jeopardize her scholarship."

He swallowed as his coach walked over but stood tall. "Did you not see the damage she caused?"

"If I may," he raised a finger. "She didn't cause the damage, so really, she should only be reprimanded for sneaking into a restricted area."

His coach mulls this over, the flush leaving his face. His coach has a soft spot for Nol; he was their number one player. And while Nol doesn’t like using the favoritism for leverage, it was essential to save someone from possible expulsion. 

"Fine," his coach resigned. "What do you suppose I have her do?"

Nol turns to the girl who seems relieved and mortified. "Uhm," Nol scratches the back of his neck, racking his break for an answer. "Oh! What if she becomes our waterboy, but you know also have her polish our blades and such?"

Now the girl seems really displeased with the idea. His coach, however, seems to have already accepted the idea. "Alright, you'll be our watergirl for the rest of the season." He turns to her, a bit of tint returning to his neck. "But if I see you messing around or pulling another stunt like this, I'll have you expelled immediately."

The girl nodded, "Thank you, sir."

"Now, follow me to my office to make your schedule, and will someone call the janitor." He motioned to his team, and everyone scrambled to find the nearest janitor. 

Nol waits outside his coach's office, hands pressed together in a teppe. The door swings open and the girl emerges, closing the door behind with her spare hand, the other holding what he assumes is her schedule. 

"Hey," Nol said, hand already scratching his nape. "Can we talk?"

The girl nods as they both walk out of the skating area. Once outside, the fall air calms his jitters if only briefly. He didn’t realize how stuffy he felt while inside.

"I know you're probably upset," he started.

She nods, brown strands falling forward, hiding her face. "I am upset," She raised her face. "But not at you."

"Oh."

"I should have been more careful. I knew it was a closed area, but I just had to ask my friend something." She halts her step. "In the end, I didn't even get to talk to him, and some delusional girl attacked me, leaving me to pay for her mess."

Nol watches the water ripple from the fountain in front of them. It's said that when a couple throws a coin in there, their love is permanent, so the place is usually flooded near Valentine's day. However, in gloomy fall, no one seems to care about relationships. 

"I'm glad you could accommodate something for me," she frowns, her button nose wrinkling. "However, cleaning your guys' uniform was not what I envisioned I'd be doing in my spare time."

"Sorry," Nol winces. 

She shakes her head. "It's alright."

After a comfortable silence, Nol pipes up, "I'm Nol, by the way."

He extends his hand out for her. She stares at it for a bit before taking it, giving it a gentle shake. "Shin-ae."

"Well, Shin-ae," he replies, adjusting his backpack straps once they'd let go. "I'll see you around?"

"Yup," She waves her schedule around. He smiles at her before leaving, passing the fountain with no thought. 

-

On Friday, their coach instructs them to leave their uniform outside to their new watergirl. Nol cringes at the thought of his teammates dumping their stinky uniforms onto her. 

He's the last to go out, shoving his uniform in his duffle bag to take home. He was the only one who took it home to wash twice a week, per Nana's request, and he wasn't one to disobey the authoritative woman. 

As he steps outside the locker room, he is greeted by a mumbling Shin-ae. She removes a uniform one of his members had shoved at her before depositing it in a bin. When she looks up, her scowl softens. "I was waiting for you."

"For me?" Nol asks quizzically.

Shin-ae rolls her eyes, "Not you, your clothes."

"Ah. No worries," he pats the duffle bag slung over his left shoulder. "I'm taking it home."

She crosses her arms. "Come on; I don't want to get in trouble for not washing your uniform."

Nol fumbles with the strap, "I'm very particular with the way I clean my stuff. I'd rather take it."

That was a lie. He doesn’t want Shin-ae to have more work, and he was also embarrassed over his sweaty clothes. Even though it was their second encounter, Shin-ae could sense he was lying. 

Puckering her lips, she said, "You just don't want me to smell your dirty clothes, huh?"

Nol reddens.

Shin-ae seems pleased, a mocking smile forming on her lips. "It's alright, I've cleaned for my dad my entire life. Nothing phases me anymore."

Nol gives in, not wanting to cause more trouble, and judging by her posture; she'd probably try to rip the bag from his hands if he continued to argue. "Alright." He inwardly winces as he hands the uniform to her. 

She says nothing until she shoves it into the bin, wiping her hands with a satisfied face. "Now, was that so hard?"

He smiled in return. 

Wordlessly, the two started to walk towards the exit, Shin-ae with her bin and Nol with an empty bag. "It wasn't bad, you know," she says as the light switches from artificial light bulbs to the sun's rays. 

"Hm?" Nol raised a brow. 

"The smell. I mean, it smelled a bit of sweat but nothing compared to the other guys." She shuddered, exaggeratedly wrinkling her face. 

Nol chuckles. A blush begins creeping at the tips of his ears. 

"I gotta go," she motions to a car parked at the curb. Shin-ae looks up at him, and it wasn't till then that he noticed he towered over her. It also didn't help that she was wearing an oversized sweater. "I'll see you around. Oh, and don't worry, I'll wash your clothes delicately." 

"Thanks," he replies in between laughs.

-

On Monday, the school's team has a game; they're first for the championship league. Thankfully it's a home game, but there are still jitters. His teammates eat in silence before the game, and when it's time to change, there are hardly words exchanged in the locker room. 

"I'm freaking out, man," Soushi whispers beside him as he pulls over his shirt.

Nol smiles softly, "You got this, Soush."

"I don't know, mate-"

The redhead presses a hand against one of his friend's shoulder blades. "I've never seen anyone take so many hits to save a team." He stares at his friend's scar, recalling how he got it, which makes Soushi grin in return.

"Yeah, you're right, Cap." 

Nol shoves him playfully. "You know I hate when you call me like that."

After a pep talk, the team goes out to greet the opposing team. The audience cheers, and Soushi points to a side where a group of girls carry signs saying things like 'the giant redhead is mine' or 'Nol, my husband.' Though he didn't show it, those neon poster boards that appear in every one of his games made him uncomfortable. 

As he moves to take his position, his clean uniform's smell roams around the air for a second, making him relax his hold on his stick. And then the game began. 

Around halftime, Shin-ae comes in with cold drinks for everyone. Nol smiles and thanks her when she hands him one while their coach pulls him aside, giving him no time to reach for a bottle of his own. 

The match was close, closer than their coach would like to admit. However, that didn't take away from the satisfying feeling they had when they won.

"Coach said we did well. Do you think we'll get a break?" Soushi askes.

Nol snorts. "Nah, if anything, he's going to be grilling us more."

His friend groans as Nol slams the locker shut. "Are we celebrating, at least?" His friend prods. 

In return, Nol shakes his head, "School night, remember." 

Another groan from his friend. "See ya," Nol waves to the rest of the team and dashes out, hoping to run into Shin-ae. 

He looks around and is about to give up when she emerges from his coach's office. She wipes the sweat off her forehead. The redhead can’t help feeling responsible for her new afterschool job, so he wants to check up on her. Her tiredness vanishes as she spotts him. 

Nol waits for her to walk out together. "Congrats!" She says as she reaches him.

"Thanks." 

"I don't know how you do it and not fall flat on your face."

The two chuckle. "It's not that impressive. Trust me; I have the worst motor skills." Nol shoves his hands in the pocket of his jeans. 

Shin-ae rolls her eyes, "I'm telling you, you just glide on ice!"

"And I'm telling you," Nol bends down to meet her eyes. "You would change your mind if you knew how to skate." 

The brunette mumbles something under her breath. Her lips purse to a frown. 

Then Nol had a brilliant idea. One that Shin-ae would call stupid later on. "What if I teach you?"

Shin-ae's eyes widen, feet stopping against the gravel outside the gymnasium. "No, no, no, no." She snaps her head up at him, making her point clear. "NO!"

Nol put his hands on his knees before bending down, "Come on, It'll be fun! Plus, it will come in handy now that you're assisting the team."

For extra measure, he pouts and adds. "Please."

Her mind seems to meditate over the idea. After a few seconds, she sighs, "Fine, but only because I don't want to slip next time I'm on the ice." 

At first, he thought she was referring to the comment he had made about helping out the team, but the way she absentmindedly touches her hands says otherwise. The fidgeting reminds him of the first time he saw her in the ice rink, hands pressed against the ice, face contorted in pain. 

He wants to ask what happened but decides against it. Instead, he opts for, "We start on Friday night."

-

On Friday, Shin-ae was sitting on the bleacher with her legs swinging. She stands when she sees him. 

"Ready?" She asks.

Nol raises a brow, "Shouldn't I be saying that?"

In return, she jabs his side. "Let's just get this over with." Shin-ae walks towards the rink. 

Nol had his feet planted on the ground. He cleared his throat, causing Shin-ae to turn; her expression yells, 'what now?'

"How are you going to skate with no skates?" 

Shin-ae reddens before walking over to him. From his bag, he pulls out a pair of skates before handing them to her. "Hopefully, they fit. I took the liberty to guess your size."

"Where'd you find these?" She inquires as she removes her shoes and places them neatly beside her. 

"I bought them."

"What?" She stands up, skates held tightly on her hand. A scowl takes over her once smiling face. He swallows.

Her hand shoots out at him. "Here, take them."

"Shin-"

"I don't want handouts, especially expensive ones."

"Shin-ae, did you happen to see that these are worn shoes?" He asks, showcasing the bottom of the skates. Surely enough, the blades were worn, not badly but enough that anyone could see they weren't a new pair.

She drew closer, tentatively taking them from him. As she examines them, Nol takes the liberty to continue. "I bought this pair back when I was starting to skate, but then I had my growth spurt and couldn't use them anymore." 

"Oh," She reddens. "I'm sorry for assuming."

Nol scratches the back of his neck. "It's cool. Now come on!"

They start with the basics. Most were exercises he'd learned when he was a child. Shin-ae thought it was ridiculous, but once he asks her to cross over to the other side to meet him, her opinions change. 

She lets out a slew of curses. Her hands flail around, despite his instructions to keep cool. Eventually, she gets stuck, and he has to go and hold her hand. 

"This is embarrassing." His student mutters as they cross to the threshold. He tries to ignore the way her hand warms his.

Nol laughs, which only earns him a smack across his back. However, Shin-ae lost her balance, and he has to hold her waist to keep her up. When she stares at his hand wrapped around her middle, Nol quickly removes it, feeling slightly flustered. 

"You know what's funny," She said later when they were finished with the lesson. Her legs swung over the bleachers as she busied herself with the hot chocolate in her hands.

Nol insists they go through with the hockey team tradition of getting shitty vending machine hot chocolate after an especially tiring practice. "What?"

"The fact that you were ever small," she motions with her eyes towards the skates that were now on top of her bag. She snickers as she sips. "All I can picture is a giant baby."

"Ha-ha. I'll have you know I was a very adorable normal-sized baby." He counters, lips jutting out but in a very exaggerated manner. 

Nol looks at Shin-ae, who seems more relaxed than she'd been since she started helping the team. He couldn't help but think of all the worries and occupations she had to tend to besides watching over the team. And all because of a misunderstanding. 

"How can you drink this? It's basically soil with water." He says, chugging down the remainder of his drink.

She shrugs. "Free food is free food."

"Want me to tell you how my Nana bullied my entire neighborhood into buying lemonade from me to buy my skates?"

Shin-ae brightens. 

-

The following week Nol decides to get lunch in the cafeteria. As soon as he gets there, he's squirmish because he spots some of his 'fangirls' all sitting at a table. When he gets his lunch, he makes a beeline to the opposite side. 

Coincidentally, Shin-ae is sitting there, one hand shoveling food into her mouth while the other turns a page to her book. When he sits, her eyes widen in surprise. 

"Hi." He says curtly, not wanting to bother her studying. 

"Sup," she says before proceeding to eat. 

Though he doesn't want to bother her, Nol takes the opportunity to bring up a topic he'd been holding back the entire week. "Uhm Shin-ae?"

The girl looks up, chopsticks still in between her lips. 

"I was thinking, with midterms coming up and all, maybe we'd take a break from skating?" Nol watched as worry lines began forming in her forehead.

"Papa raised no quitter." She replied matter factly, causing Nol to flinch.

He raises his hands defensively. "I'm not saying you are," the hockey player looked at the dark circles on his friend's face. He'd been worried she wasn't getting enough sleep from the extra work, and now that midterms were approaching, he could tell the school work was piling up as well. "I just … I wanted to have time to study. If that's okay with you?"

She looks flustered, and he feels terrible, but he knows Shin-ae was more prideful then she let on. Always piling on more work than necessary, like his mother. His heart aches as he recalls her.

"Okay," Shin-ae finally agrees. "But, we're doing extra drills when this is all over."

She beames, and he could only return by flashing a smile. He digs into his chicken sandwich, enjoying the fact that the cafeteria had healthy enough food that his coach wouldn't scold him. He hates being on a diet, especially when Shin-ae popped tater tots into her mouth. 

"Uhm, do you know those girls?" She asked as he takes another bite of his food. 

Nol discreetly turns around and catches sight of the girls that made his insides turn. He whipped his head back at Shin-ae, ignoring the weird sensation he feels at the back of his head now that he knows they'd been staring at him all along. 

"Kind of," he replies, playing with the tomato slice that'd fallen off his sandwich. "They always go to the games to support me."

"Oh," she shudders. "The ones that always bring cringy posters?" 

Nol nods. "I wouldn't mind it that much," he admits, "if they'd do just that, but they go online and post bizarre stuff about my body. And when they talk to me, they always insinuate I only want to have ..."

Shin-ae reaches across and puts her hand atop his. "Those girls clearly don't deserve to be called your fans," She rubs her thumb lightly across his knuckles. "You're a good guy, Nol." 

When Nol looks up, he gets lost in her eyes and feels his heart give up a little bit. 

The brunette returns to her eating, and Nol tightly holds onto his sandwich. 

"At least I can get more hours from the bookstore this week," she mutters, and Nol wasn't sure if she meant that for him or she was talking to herself; either way, he wanted midterms to be over. 

-

The two decided that they'd take a break from skating till midterms ended. Nol barely has time to talk to her during the week as his coach pushes the team to work harder, not wanting to make the same mistakes as the last game.

Despite their hectic school schedule, they're expected to attend Wednesday's practice. Nol hurries to get ready to get a chance to chat with Shin-ae if only for a few minutes. 

As he pulls the jersey over his head, he's met with a pleasant smell that he can't quite pinpoint its familiarity. Then as he steps through the threshold to the ice rink, he makes the connection. 

The smell was familiar because Shin-ae had been washing their uniforms with her detergent. His cheeks seethe as the scent lingers in his nostrils. He could only draw his attention away from the aroma because he spotted her with a figure skater.

He'd forgotten the figure skaters skated in the time slate before theirs. Now, his attention was entirely on Shin-ae and how she lightly ruffled the figure skater's blonde hair. When Shin-ae turns and waves at him, he'd felt as if he was intruding on something intimate. 

The two skate over to Nol. 

"You're here early; I was just about to set up the nets." Shin-ae motioned to the empty rink. He hardly registers what she says as his attention went to the blonde man who was switching to shoes. 

"I was gonna offer some help," he said, scratching the nape of his neck. 

The man now stood behind Shin-ae. He seemed shy to barge in their conversation. Nol couldn't help but study the man. 

He had a thin frame but wasn't slim by any means. He was conventionally attractive and had the bluest pair of eyes Nol had ever seen. 

"Uhm," the blonde man clears his throat, causing Shin-ae to turn. "I'm leaving."

Shin-ae nods. "I'll see you later, my apartment."

Nol feels his stomach drop, and he’s not quite sure why. The blonde man nods curtly at Nol. He stiffly returns the gesture. 

"Sorry about that, he's quite shy despite his popularity." Shin-ae interrupts the silence hanging in the air after the skater leaves. 

The redhead made the connection as to where he'd seen the blonde man elsewhere. During the ice sports banquet the year before. He'd gone up on stage with his sparkly medals. Soushi had whistled under his breath and mumbled how he was the number one figure skater at their school. 

Nol shakes his head, "It's alright." 

Shin-ae was quickly moving to set up the nets as soon as the conversation had died. "Here, let me help." Nol reached for the second net. 

"Thanks," the non-skater seems better at keeping her balance but still sports a clenched jaw on the ice. 

"I thought we said no training this week." He blurts out before he finishes thinking the statement in his mind. 

Shin-ae however, seems confused. "What do you mean?" Her head tilts as she draws nearer as if she could decipher the little muscle movements in every one of his expressions.

"You're way better than the last time we practiced." He points to her newly stabilized standing. 

Shin-ae stares at her feet, momentarily before shifting her attention to Nol. 

"That's good!" He adds cheerfully, or what he hopes sounds that way. Though, he couldn't help but feel upset that she skated without him.

"Dieter just told me to focus on strengthening my ankle," she waves him off, and Nol's eyes linger on the hand that touched the skater's hair. 

Nol let out a breath. "That's good advice."

He makes his way to the bleachers, Shin-ae following suit. "I know," she said, almost tripping on her feet. Nol hastily moves to aid her, but she shoots him a look, so he lets her be. "Now, I can implement it in our next lesson."

"I'm sure you'll both have fun." He waits for her to pass the threshold. 

She, however, scrunches her nose. "What?"

"Next time you practice with him, your boyfriend," he added for extra measure. He didn't know what he felt worse about, the fact that she wouldn't practice with him anymore or that she had a better partner to teach her.

"Boyfriend? I-"

"Shin-ae!" His coaches' voice reverberates in the empty rink. 

They both jump at the startling noise. His coach waves Shin-ae over as his team starts to pile in. "Talk to you later, okay?" She turns once more to face him, for him to assure they would.

He nods wordlessly before she took off. 

-

Nol welcomes the water that falls from the shower and onto his back. It almost feels like a massage, which is something he really needs after the straining practice. 

'It will all be worth it,' he tells himself. He runs his towel over his head, wanting it to dry to finally sleep. 

A ping from his phone disrupts the silence of his house. His Nana is already fast asleep in another room. She'd left him food on the microwave, one of his favorite potato dishes. 

He's surprised to see the sender is none other than Shin-ae. Nol reddens as he recalls his childish reaction. 

_ Smol: are you home? _

He replies with a simple:  _ Yes.  _

The dots on his phone appear and disappear. He decides to shut off his phone, too nervous to keep watching the pending message. Alas, when his hair is considerably dry, he plops onto his bed. The ping announcing the arrival of a new message makes his palms sweat. 

_ Smol: I wanted to clarify that I don't have a boyfriend. Dieter is just a friend. Not that I needed to tell you this, but I already got into a mess earlier because someone assumed we were dating T_T _

Nol lets out a deep breath. With his nerves squashed, he begins to realize a few things. The first being that he had no reason to be upset over Shin-ae having a boyfriend. Not unless he had feelings for her. And that he knew he didn't. Except he was starting to believe that wasn't the case anymore. 

He thought of the time, he could point out her smell, and how it made him feel at ease, how his heart skips a beat whenever she smiles at him. Nol wasn't good with taking compliments, but whenever Shin-ae did so, he almost believes them. 

He closes his eyes and, for extra measure, puts his arm over his eyes to fall asleep. That was of no use because his thoughts drift to Shin-ae and only her. His phone dings again. He almost doesn’t believe it’s her again. 

_ Smol: My last midterm is tomorrow btw, so u up for Friday practice? _

He smiles and couldn't ignore the way his whole body tingles with excitement. 

_ Me: okay :D  _

Nol kicks his legs in the air, excitedly trying to keep himself from producing sound. He turns to look at his phone one last time and whispers underneath his breath, "I think I like you, Shin-ae."

-

True to her word, Shin-ae shows up to their practice. As soon as she was close enough to him, she stealthily fishes out a brown paper bag covered with grease. 

"Shh," she presses her finger to her mouth. Nol tries not to stare at her slightly pink lips. "Your coach will kill me if he sees I brought fried food near any of you.

Nol chuckles, "I'm pretty sure he's gone. And what is it, by the way?" 

The bag releases a strong warm smell that makes his mouth water. "You'll find out once we drink our dirt with water."

The redhead tries to remain professional during their practice, but whenever her hand lingered on his for more seconds than necessary, or he had to hold her around the waist for support, his ears would redden. 

"Look, I did it!" She yells excitedly as she makes her way across the rink alone. Nol grins as she halts to a stop in front of him.

"That's awesome!" He places a hand on her shoulder. "I knew you could do it."

At that moment, something shifted in Shin-ae's face. Her eyes bore into his face while they stood above the ice. Nol shifts in place, reaching behind his neck to scratch it, "Is there something in my face?"

Shin-ae shakes her head furiously, allowing a small laugh to fill up the quiet space. "No." She turns away to one of Nol's hands, which was now on her wrist. He could feel her pulse drumming away erratically. 

"Sorry." He says, letting go. 

"We should um, go eat; I'm starving."

Nol follows behind her. Once on the bleaches, he quickly removes his shoes, though he hastily cut his finger in doing so. He promptly sucks on his thumb. 

"Are you okay?!" Shin-ae asks with panic in her voice.

The hockey player, who was already opening the paper bag, looks up in surprise. "What, the cut? It's no big deal."

His student frowns. "Then why is it still bleeding?"

"It'll stop eventually," he assures her.

His friend angrily stands up and marches out of the rink. Nol sighs, feeling terrible for causing her to become unsettled. He was contemplating how to apologize when Shin-ae barged through the doors with something in her hand.

"Where did -"

"Your hand," Shin-ae extends her palm, waiting for him to place his hand out for her.

Too stunned to move when he spotted alcohol wipes and a bandaid box, Shin-ae reaches out and takes his wrist. She turns his hand upward as she cleans his wound with the wipe. "Jeez, cleaning your wound with your mouth."

Nol simpers at her angry disposition. He knew that sounds wrong, but her actions said she cared. She cared, and he could help but gaze at her pouty lips and furrowed brows. 

Cute. 

The two sat in the empty ice rink and ate Shin-ae's favorite rice cakes. She mentioned how she especially bought them for him because they weren't too sweet. Her eyes drifted to the empty rink as if she were avoiding his. 

-

On Friday, they are up for the semifinals; Shin-ae hums excitedly on their bus as they make their way to the school they are competing against. 

"I heard it's going to snow!" She says with joy in her voice. 

Nol smiles beside her. 

"Ugh, not snow!" Soushi mutters in the seat behind theirs. 

Shin-ae scowls, while Nol turns to his friends, amused at their usual quarrels. "Why do you have to be so negative about everything?"

"Snow is the worst; you know what comes after snow? Slush!" He plops back in his seat, arms crossing in front of his chest. "Dirty slush."

Shin-ae chooses to ignore his comment. Instead, she looks out the window. Eventually, they both fall asleep. He isn't even aware they both knock out until Soushi is screaming at their faces to get up.

"Wake up, lovebirds!" 

The two groggily stare at each other momentarily before pulling away like either is made of poison. Soushi rolls his eyes, "Common."

"Uhm sorry," Shin-ae whispers something inaudible behind him.

Nol slings the duffle bag over his chest before turning, "What was that?"

Shin-ae pauses, her cheeks tinting a bright pink. "I said, I'm sorry. You have my drool on your sweater."

The redhead looks down on his shoulder and lets out a chuckle. "It's alright, Shin-ae. Now come on, they're waiting for us."

Hundreds of people fill out the arena, enough to make some of his teammates a little nervous. They're up against a team who is intimidating, holding some of the country's most promising future ice skaters.

After a long pep talk, the team visibly relaxed, but Soushi still looks pale. "One more game and Canada." He says it like a mantra. 

Shin-ae is on the bleachers, drinks ready to go. She smiles brightly at him before she's pulled away by the coach to do something. 

Even from the start of the game, it is clear he and his team are up for a challenging game. The opposing team is fast enough to make a point within the first ten minutes of the game. 

As the game continues, Nol tries his best to keep his team going. Their stamina quickly depletes as they try to keep up with their opponents. A particularly big player follows after Nol. Earlier in the game, the same player had tried to push one of his teammates against the rink's side. Thankfully his member had pulled away. 

Now, he tries to cover for the puck with his team. He can tell the man is beginning to get desperate as Nol continues to block him. The burly man's face turns the color of lava. Nol doesn't even have time to react when he strikes him hard against his head with the hockey stick. 

The last thing he hears is foul being called by a referee; then it goes dark. 

-

When he wakes up, he is blinded by the lights around him. His eyes finally adjust, and he can tell he's in a hospital bed. 

"Doctor!" Soushi calls. 

Nol doesn't even have time to say anything before his friend adds, "Don't worry, I didn't call Nana or him."

He slumps back in his bed as the doctor walks into his room. He explains that he's had a mild concussion and that he should rest for another day. Hockey is off-limits for a few weeks, but Nol knows this won't matter after he sees Soushi's face indicating they lost the game.

Shin-ae shows up the next day; she explains she didn't want to intrude. "Can you walk with me to my ride?" He asks as she arrives at the time of his discharge. 

Her face softens, "Of course."

He's still wearing the drooled covered sweater, and if she notices, she doesn't point it out—the two walk out in time for snow to fall. 

"You're a day late, snow," Nol says as the snowflakes begin to fall down to his outreached hand.

"Maybe it was waiting for you," Shin-ae suggests, reaching out with her own hand to catch some flakes.

Nol blushes, "Nah, I bet it's global warming."

The brunette laughs, "Yeah, maybe. Either way, I don't think I would have enjoyed it if it had snowed yesterday."

The two walk in silence as they make their way to the back parking lot of the hospital. Soushi had family business to attend, and he wasn't about to panic Nana, so he ordered an uber. 

"I was really worried," She states after a moment. Her voice is so small, and when he turns to look at her, her head is down. 

Their hands continuously bump as they walk. "I'm sorry," Nol stops walking, causing her to halt as well. "I'm sorry, I worried you."

She wipes at her eyes, even though he can't make out the tears in the dark. "You should worry about yourself, you heard the doctor," she sniffles. "No strenuous activities."

"Shin-ae, I'm okay," He affirms, worried at her frazzled state. 

"I know, I just got really scared when I saw you on the rink, not moving." Her hands went to circle his torso, and soon enough, she was burying her face in his chest. 

"I'm sorry." He swallows a lump before hugging her thin frame back. "I promise not to get hurt again."

"You better," she mumbled before pulling away—a serious look replacing her once solemn one. 

The redhead rubs a thumb across her cheek. "I really like you," he said before he got scared to admit it. 

Shin-ae, to his shock, took his hand on her face and squeezed. "I like you too."

"You do?!"

She nods, a smile plastered on her pink lips. "Only if that wasn't a pun."

He groans, "Ugh, that would have been the perfect opportunity for one!"

"I'm leaving!" She turns to walk to the parking lot. She took five steps, enough for him to catch up.

"Wait!" Nol quickly walks towards her with two strides of his long legs. He intertwines his fingers with hers. 

"Is this okay?" He asks, not wanting to make her uncomfortable. He wondered if he was moving too fast for her liking.

Shin-ae looks down at their hands and then back up at him, pink dusting her cheeks. "It's okay."

-

Shin-ae turns to look at Nol when they stop in front of the fountain. It's been a few months since they started dating, winter break coming up in one week. 

Nol smiles as he swings their hands' side to side. "So …" 

His girlfriend rolls her eyes, "Alright, spit it out." 

"What?" Nol blushes, turning to face her. "I have nothing to-"

"You want to throw a coin in the fountain, don't you?" She asks, tilting her head towards the fountain. 

"Can we?" He looks at her with what he hopes is a persuasive expression. 

Shin-ae was hiding a smile now, and Nol could see it. He bends down and adds, "Pleeease." 

His girlfriend huffs in pretense dissatisfaction. "Alright."

He pulls out a coin from his pocket and tosses it into the water. Shin-ae is beaming when he turns to face her. "Happy?"

Nol nods in return. 

After the two walk to the secluded park near Shin-ae's apartment, Nol wraps his arms around Shin-ae's middle. He rests his head in the crook of her neck; she shivers from the touch of his cold skin on her. "Sorry," he mutters, already pulling away. 

"It's alright." She replies.

"You know that even without the fountain, I still have faith in us, right?" He asks, swaying along with her. 

Shin-ae turns, leaving him cold briefly before she hides her face on the exact spot he had been resting his chin. "Of course, I do." 

"Do you want to get some hot chocolate?"

His girlfriend looked up at him, holding onto both sides his open jacket. "Only if it isn't vending machine hot chocolate." 

**Author's Note:**

> A special thanks to @cashewbean for editing for me! 
> 
> Come and chat : tumblr @tigernol


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